Like many other PFL fighters, Terrado was a victim of the league’s
delayed starts and other irksome issues. To understand how he
brushes off the troubles and pushes forward, you have to know what
he has already battled through in his pursuits to become a mixed
martial artist. His story starts all the way on the other side of
the planet, in the United States territory on which he was born and
raised: Guam. Terrado was not an ordinary kid, as he was already in
to weightlifting at a time when other kids were playing video
games. He enjoyed it so much that by age 14 he was already 190
pounds of muscular bulk. Terrado then received an invite from his
cousin to spar at the Purebred Ground-Fu gym. He scoffed at his
125-pound relative’s request.

“I’m into bodybuilding,” Terrado told him. “Plus, you guys are all
small and skinny. I’ll kick your ass.”

After some convincing, he accepted the invite.

“I went to the gym, and my cousin says ‘are you ready, man?’ and he
[expletive] kicked my ass,” Terrado said.

The lesson in MMA included taking head kicks, double-leg slams,
armbars and rear-naked chokes -- and not just from his cousin.
Other gym members got their chance to manhandle the youngster, as
well. Despite being embarrassed by men 60 pounds lighter than him,
Terrado did not back down. Quite the contrary, he had an awakening
and wanted to know how it was done. “Instead of looking big and
cool,” Terrado thought, “I’d rather know how to fight.” Day after
day, he would go back to get brutalized by the fighters at the gym.
“I’d get my ass kicked every [expletive] day, just getting beat
up,” Terrado said. However, he knew his situation was not about
trained fighters taking advantage of easy and naive prey. An
old-school combat sports mentality permeated the gym, and the only
way to earn respect and devotion was to be broken down, mentally
and physically.

“They want to see if you have heart,” Terrado said.

Over time, he proved himself. However, the bruises and scrapes that
accompanied him to school gave officials some concerns. One day,
his father received a call from the principal, inquiring about the
injuries. He had his response ready.

“I didn’t do anything,” Terrado’s father said. “If I did it, trust
me, he’d be dead. No, he thinks he’s tough. He does that MMA stuff.
That’s who did that.”

Terrado laughed as he remembered his father’s no-nonsense answer.
Terrado spent most of his high school years training, and he
enjoyed the brotherhood built between fighters in the gym. However,
he realized the MMA scene in Guam had a glass ceiling for many
combatants. Fighters would train, win championships with a local
promotion and then transition into the next phase of their lives.
That scenario did not work for Terrado. He wanted to do more with
his fighting career.

“If I’m going to do this,” he thought, “I’m not going to be able to
make it here.”

With that in mind, the only option for Terrado, then 17, was to
make an adult decision and move to the U.S. mainland. His gym in
Guam had a sister facility in California: Undisputed. He also had
relatives in the area that could give him a place to stay while he
pursued his dreams. Terrado quit school and made the move to San
Diego. Unfortunately, his early days did not go to well. After a
dispute with his cousin, Terrado was thrown out on the streets and
forced to live in a 1997 Mustang he had purchased for $900. He was
now 18 years old, out of school, homeless, working three different
jobs and actively training as a professional mixed martial
artist.

“I’d wake up in the morning, go train, then take a shower at the
gym, then go to work and do those three jobs,” he said.

Terrado’s diet at the time left a lot to be desired. He knew as a
professional he had to eat smart and that he could not dine on
salty foods like hot dogs and Ramen noodles. However, his limited
budget did not allow for much more. In the end, his diet consisted
of a loaf of bread and cans of tuna he would ration during the
week. If he had a few extra bucks, he splurged on items like
lettuce and Sriracha to liven up his meals.

“I was doing what I had to so I can survive [and] fight and try and
make a name for myself,” Terrado said.

Ten years later, he is married with a child and owns a gym:
Gamebred Training Center. Built-in toughness has allowed him to
push through the difficulties he has experienced with the
Professional Fighters League. Terrado originally signed with the
rebranded organization in 2017 and expected to be competing in a
tournament format early this year.

“I’ve been training since last year getting ready for January,” he
said.

However, circumstances for the reformed company have delayed the
start of welterweight bouts on several occasions. Along with those
frustrations, Terrado claims he originally agreed to fight in a
tournament and that the concept of two regular-season fights
followed by playoffs was added afterwards.

“I was over here thinking I was already in the tournament,” Terrado
said. “Now I’ve got to fight these two fights, and if I lose, I
don’t have a chance to get in?”

The change came as a harsh surprise for Terrado, especially since
he felt as though he did the promotion a favor last summer. While
on a cruise for his honeymoon, Terrado was contacted about taking a
fight on the company’s inaugural short-form card in Daytona,
Florida. The bout was against Joao
Zeferino and on three weeks’ notice. Terrado won a split
decision. “I thought [by] doing that last minute the PFL would have
a little bit more consideration for me,” he said. In the end, he
was not going to allow it to derail his focus going forward.
“Whatever. I signed. I agreed,” said Terrado, who owns a 15-3-1
record, with 12 wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
“I’m a fighter, and it’s a great opportunity to turn my life
around.”

To make amends, the company gave Terrado a bonus for signing a new
contract that includes regular-season bouts. Ready to get back in
action after a yearlong layoff, he now has his sights set on
PFL 3 and his showdown with Magomed Magomedkerimov this
Thursday at the GWU Smith Center in Washington, D.C.

“I’m ready to go out there and just explode with fireworks and
smash this mother [expletive],” said Terrado, who plans to
reintroduce himself to the MMA universe. “They don’t know who I am,
but they will.”